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With the majority of $1.1 trillion in student-loan debt issued by the federal government, any solution that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposes to help struggling borrowers would likely have a limited effect, some analysts say. "If we're just talking about private loans, that's not going to save the market," said Michael Tarkan, a Compass Point Research & Trading analyst.

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is asking for ideas from the public, financial institutions and colleges on a policy that would help private student-loan borrowers find more affordable ways to repay their loans. The agency will take comments until April 8 on its website. "We will be analyzing plans for policymakers to consider that might help avoid a repeat of the mortgage meltdown for today's student-loan borrowers," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said.

Despite a drop in outstanding loan balances in 2009, many small banks and credit unions are bucking the trend and making loans. Consumer loans grew nearly 3% at banks that fall in the bottom 50% of the industry in terms of assets.

Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke says in remarks prepared for Congress today that banks may be loosening their standards for small-business loans. Duke notes that NFIB surveys show more small companies are concerned about sales than finance conditions and that demand for loans are weak.

The European Central Bank said starting 1 March, it will accept mortgage bonds and similar securities only if they have a triple-A rating. The move is part of the bank's tightened rules regarding acceptable collateral for loans. The ECB has been cracking down on perceived abuses of its bank-liquidity operations.

Students who apply for federally insured college loans through Sallie Mae will have to pay a fee -- $35 for new undergraduate applicants and as much as a few hundred dollars for graduate school enrollees. Such costs traditionally have been mostly covered by the lenders, but most are reversing this policy as more lenders exit the student-loan market, this article says.